Second Chance
by Owari
Summary: Altair may have been forgiven by Malik for his mistakes at Solomon's Temple but he has never felt he deserved that forgiveness. So when Malik's new family is stolen he wil stop at nothing to earn that redemption...no matter what.
1. Chapter 1

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_Altaïr chased after his target through the dark streets, he had been hunting down every 'piece' the 'apple' showed him and he was on the heels of a person who would lead him to another clue – he had to catch them before the Templers did! It was not too easy though, his prey was not overly fast but the cloaked figure seemed to know which alleys he was taking in hopes of catching the target off guard. He had nearly gotten them from the roofs but the figure had seemed to know he was there. After a long chase through the winding streets of Jerusalem, the person stopped at a dead end – which had a ladder. The Assassin barely missed catching the other's foot as he leapt after them, he cursed in irritation and then again when he heard a struggle on the roof; had a guard gotten them? He made it onto the roof, ready for a fight but upon seeing Malik with his target caught and held to the roof, he relaxed._

"_Was it coincidence that you ended up back at the bureau, Brother?"_

"…_must be." Altaïr nodded at Malik and the Dai released the target. They carefully got up, looking first at Altaïr and then at Malik, who was ready for them to bolt but not for them to throw their arms around him and cry into his neck. Malik was halfway between wanting to stab this person repeatedly or throwing them off the bureau's roof. If not for the smaller person's breasts pressed against him and the distinctive sound of a woman's voice – he possibly would have done both._

"_Do not let him stab me! I do not know what I did but I am sorry! Make him leave me alone!" Malik stared wide eyed at Altaïr, who was also stood with a beguiled expression on his face. It was a woman – why did it have to be a woman? He couldn't in good conscience torture information out of this person now. "I do not have any treasures, any silver trinkets or shrouds! Please, Malik, make him go away…" _

_Altaïr's hazel eyes narrowed, "Malik, you know this woman?"_

"_No," it sounded unconvincing with her hanging onto him and muttering his name like a mantra, her face nuzzling into his neck and seeming like it was completely normal. He pushed her away, not expecting her to topple backwards and land on her backside. Her hood fell to her shoulders and he was met with large blue eyes that looked at him as if he had stepped on a kitten, she had a pretty face, long, dark curly hair and a pout that would have made weaker men grovel and apologise – but Malik was not a weak man. "How do you know my name?"_

"_I…I…" fed up with her stuttering, Altaïr stepped forward and yanked her up by her arm. Both Assassin and woman gasped painfully and separated as if burned by the touch; Altaïr gripped his head for a moment as it throbbed angrily and the woman did the same but appeared to be in more pain than the Assassin. He recovered first, he looked at Malik as if to confirm that had really happened – apparently so by the look of shock on the other's face. "You…are looking for something…but I do not have it. A woman can lead you to something; she is in Acre – a Templer…M-Maria."_

_Altaïr frowned, Maria again? He had hoped she would be forgotten now that Robert was dead, if she had information on another 'piece' though, he would go after her, "How do you know this?" he demanded from her, hardly sympathetic to the obvious discomfort she was in and simply wanting answers._

"_I am like Adha, she was more important though…powerful…they will kill her – you will be too late and hold her…cold and lifeless and al-!" Altaïr hauled her up by her collar, anger evident on his face as he lifted her nearly off the tiles._

"_Where is Adha? What do you know of what she is! Explain yourself, woman!"_

"_I do not know! I can not tell where she is but I know she only has months left – I know you love her but - !" he tightened his grip and demanded the location, "I do not know! She was the chalice and I am just some useless 'piece', I am worthless without the other half – please! I do not choose what I see!" a hand landed on Altaïr's arm and drew the angry man's attention away from the terrified young woman. Malik told him to calm himself that she would explain things better if she were not in fear of her life._

"_I know her name brings you pain, Brother, I know." He winced when the woman clung to him again but ignored her, "Let us not do this on the roof where an archer can pick us off." He glared down at the other, "Who are you?"_

"_Nadira…your future wife~" she gave him a shy smile and Malik rose an eyebrow._

_The Dai pulled her away again shoved her toward the open roof, "Of course!" he said sarcastically, "And Altaïr will be the god father of our first born!"_

00

"Malik!" the man looked up from his work and to the doorway of his bureau, upon seeing who it was he let a smile light up his usually serious features and made his way around the counter. He and Altaïr shared a brief embrace, Altaïr patting his shoulder as he spoke again, "I heard from one of the informants that I missed the main event – a girl, was it?"

"I do not think you missed it by accident; your nose still seems bent from when Maria bore your son. What were you thinking? Impregnating her and then offering your support during the birth – surely you knew she would hit you." They both chuckled at the memory that hardly seemed like it was only just over a year ago. "But yes; a girl. She is beautiful, Altaïr, I swear she is the prettiest baby I have ever seen – maybe being her father makes me a little biased but if anyone says otherwise I will personally gut them and make toys from their bones." He ignored the way the other Assassin smirked at him, "She is sleeping now and so you will have to wait to meet your god daughter." They both made their way into the entry room to catch up.

Altaïr had not only come to see Malik's first child and wanted to get the business part of his visit over and done with as soon as possible. He had good news and he had bad news; the good news was that he had managed to get the 'Apple' back from a Templer lackey who had somehow retrieved it. The bad news; he had used the apple, discovered another 'Piece of Eden' and gotten away. "They know about Nadira and for this reason it would be wise for you and her to move back to Masyaf." Malik opened his mouth to argue but Altaïr held up a hand. "It would keep her safe – it would keep your child safe!"

"That is a cheap shot; do not use a baby barely a day old to sway me." He had been perfectly content! Why did Altaïr have to bring a dark cloud into his bureau? "Nadira has family here, I have my duties as Dai and I do not to raise my baby girl in the fortress. We moved back to Jerusalem because you thought it was safer to keep her away from the Brotherhood and now – now that we are settled! You want us to pack up and leave – when?" he wanted to cross his arms but as he was missing one he settled for smacking the back of Altaïr's hood, "You realise there is snow on the ground and that Nadira is still recovering from yesterday, yes?"

Growling at the sting on the back of his head, Altaïr glared at Malik, "The snow will not last…but the sooner we move the better." He had been thinking so much about persuading Malik that this was a good choice that he had forgotten to ask after the woman he was trying to protect. "How is she?"

"Not well." Malik said simply, an elbow in his ribs made him grunt and then sigh at the other's silent request for a better answer. "Physically she is weak, it has not been an easy pregnancy and the birth itself was hard on her – if she was not suffering from the pain of labour then she was suffering from her...'gift'. You know that pain makes it worse. If not for – " both men flinched and stood quickly when a crash came from the main room, Malik pushed in front of Altaïr and made his way through the door, "Nadira, I told you to call if you needed anything!" he chastised as he saw his wife leaning heavily against the counter and looking at where she had knocked the incense pot to the floor. The man clicked his tongue as he made his way to her, he hated how pale she looked, her normally dark skin was several shades lighter than he liked, she felt warm under his touch, feeling her forehead and sliding the dark hair away from the damp skin made his frown intensify. "What are you doing out of bed?"

She mumbled incoherently, quiet enough that the Assassin at first failed to understand until he pulled her closer to his body. Altaïr saw a look of frustration cross his friend's face, "What is it, Malik?"

"Something about, 'blood on the walls', 'broken…' something broken but I can not make sense of it." He gave the woman a light shake, "Nadira, come back to me…look at me – Nadira!" another light shake and the young woman looked at him as if not realising he had been there all along. She looked around the room, acknowledged in her mind that Altaïr was close by and then stared back up into Malik's impossibly dark eyes; when had she moved from the bed?

She leant against Malik, wrapping her arms around his middle and rested her head against his shoulder, "I will not be going to Masyaf for at least a few weeks…the river is going to break its banks and block the way." She closed her blue eyes and sighed in both exhaustion and frustration. She had a strange talent, she glimpsed into the future or sometimes a person's past – like Adha had been, she was another human form of a 'piece of Eden'. Where as Adha had been the chalice and capable of uniting people – something useful! Nadira was stuck with annoying glimpses of things that could have already happened or be happening a million miles away for all she knew. Usually she was not plagued with the visions, as they only came to her when she was in pain, but the visions caused terrible headaches which caused more visions and more pain – a vicious circle. The best she could do was tell people what the weather would be like.

Altaïr groaned at the news, he had not planned on a delay; he should have brought people with him in case Templers came for Nadira like he expected. He wanted to ask her if she saw any danger coming to Jerusalem, he knew that if she forced herself she would be able to 'see' something but with how ill she looked – he did not even entertain the thought for long. "You should take something to make you sleep."

Nadira shook her head slowly and looked at him from the safety of Malik's chest, "I want to be alert for her." she saw his eyes narrow at her as if he did not except her excuse. "They are just nonsensical images now, you know how it works by now, soon I will be back to normal until I trip or something."

"True enough but if I see you wandering around aimlessly muttering about bloody walls again; I will find a way to drug you."

"Do you always medicate the women you care about, Altaïr?" she said teasingly.

Altaïr smirked, "Believe me, if I could get Maria to take food from me, she would be comatose."

000

Very lame beginning! But it sets a scene ~


	2. Chapter 2

Altaïr looked down at the tiny bundle on his lap and smiled stupidly at the baby, "She really _is_ beautiful…for only a day old. My boys were hideous little things; red and wrinkly…looked as angry as their mother too." Nadira laughed at the comment, poor Maria's ears must have been burning, "You can tell me, Nadira, who is the father really? She can not be Malik's – there is no scowl, no disapproving glare and she is too pretty for him to be the father."

"I can hear you, novice!" Malik's voice carried through to them, he didn't sound too offended by the barbs from the other but he was not going to sit idly by whilst he was insulted. "She is mine, from the tips of her toes to the hair on her head – mine." Nadira had often joked that if Malik had a womb he would have demanded to carry their baby for the nine months, now that she was out in the big wide world her father had barely left her alone and Nadira found herself quite often babyless. The fact that Altaïr had her was a miracle but it may have been Malik showing off. He looked down again and blinked in surprise; her little eyes were open and she was quite blatantly _glaring_ at him.

"She has your eyes, my friend, I take it all back." A high pitched whine echoed off the walls followed by the baby's shrill crying and kicking limbs. Malik swapped the tray of hot drinks for his daughter, a smirk working its way onto his face as the kicking and crying quieted down to a whine, "Apparently she dislikes me as well…definitely your child."

"Now, now." Nadira said as she patted his shoulder sympathetically, "She does not hate you…your only fault is that you are not him. I seem to be here for milk, otherwise she wants no one but Malik." She was a little jealous, all that hard work of being pregnant and the agony of child birth all for a baby who wanted nothing but her father. Malik smiled at her, he was hogging the little one but how could he not? He handed her over to her mother and watched Nadira fuss over her. "What are we going to call her? We only thought of boys names!"

Altaïr looked at them both with a smug look, he had brought this up month ago, they constantly referred to the unborn child as a boy and he had warned them that they should prepare in case of a girl. He wanted to make a joke that Nadira should have seen this coming. She would hit him though or give him false information about one of her visions again – last time he had been stranded for a week! "Zayba."

Malik looked over the rim of his cup and observed the innocent look on the Assassin's face, "Was that not the name you chose for your daughter, should you ever have one?"

"It was, however I know you liked it first and I still have no daughter to give it to." He shrugged his shoulders as if wanting to seem unaffected, "It suits her, Malik. She is pretty and she is beautiful." The more he watched the two the more he could see them warming up to the idea, Nadira stroked the baby's cheeks and cooed quietly at her – testing the name and letting it roll off her tongue. Malik looked pleased with the offer of the name and in turn it pleased Altaïr, yes, he had hoped to use the name for his own child but he knew his friend had always liked the name. "Then it is settled?"

"Yes," Nadira smiled at him as she placed the baby on the pillow beside her gently, "it is perfect." She slowly got to her feet, using the wall for support and feeling as if she had climbed a mountain. Altaïr got up before Malik could and let the woman lean against him, "Ugh, I wish this fever would leave me alone…" both men shared a worried glance but said nothing as they helped her back to bed, Malik took over the job of supporting his wife and Altaïr followed after with the baby and the warm drink that she would need – Malik felt bad for sneaking the passionflower into her drink but it was the only way to make her sleep, hopefully it would relieve a little of her pain too.

00

Malik checked in on Nadira after he was sure the woman had finished feeding their child. She was still so shy about her body and appreciated that Malik left her alone and understood. He had always been indulgent of her, even when they first met; he had let her stay around him, let her ask him endless questions and teased her when she would blush at him. It had been strange for him at first – it wasn't often that a pretty young woman declared that she would marry you and then proceeded to cook all your favourite foods. He had found out that she had learnt to cook for him, she had learnt to play chess for him, she had even learnt the dialect he spoke because she had grown up with a different language. He had been flattered – she had done so much to make sure he would like her and he had fallen into her trap. They were married six months after meeting.

It had worked out for everyone; Malik had a loving wife, Nadira was happy and Altaïr knew that she was safe with them. The Templers would get hold of her while she was with the Brotherhood. "What did you put in my drink?"

"Nothing."

"Malik." She said pointedly and gave him a displeased glare. He sighed and admitted it to her, she was not angry though and for that he was relieved. "I am not so fragile, Malik. I am weak right now, I admit, but please do not sneak things in my food or drink…if you had asked I would have drunk it." The new mother cuddled her precious little bundle for a long moment as she allowed Malik to sit beside her dumbly – he should have known she'd make him feel guilty. "She really does have your eyes; so dark and Smokey it is like you can fall into them." The baby yawned widely, causing both her parents to smile broadly, "Where is Altaïr staying? It is too cold to leave him out in the main room."

Grunting at having the moment cut short Malik muttered, "He is staying with an informant." Nadira nodded and settled Zayba into her basket before settling down to sleep. Malik stripped down to his sleeping pants after making sure the bureau was locked up tight and joined his wife as it was too late to continue his work. Nadira mumbled in her sleep, having Malik's body pressed against her back made her fevered skin a little uncomfortable but she liked having him close and she linked her fingers with his as he slid it over her waist. "Did any of your visions ever show you how happy I am to have you?" he whispered into her ear.

Nadira smiled lightly and replied sleepily, "You tell me every day."

00

A crash sounded sometime in the darkness of night and startled the Dai from his sleep. Nadira stirred beside him and groaned when their daughter began crying, "Stay here!" he hissed quietly when more noise came from the wooden roof – it was probably another dumb novice who crashed into it as if they thought it was open. He crept to the doorway of his private room and peaked through the opening – Templers! Malik shut the door fully and bolted it, "Nadira!" he knelt beside her, his hand cupping her cheek and staring wide eyed into her tired eyes; were the herbs from her tea still affecting her? "You must take Zayba and get out through the secret passage!"

"w-what is happening?" she squealed in surprise as something impacted with the door, she grabbed the basket with the still crying baby and stood up shakily, "Let us leave!"

"Run to Nakim's, tell him the bureau has been compromised and do exactly as he says." Picking up his sword, Malik watched the hinge on the door splinter, "Go!" he saw her hesitating once she realised he would not follow but Malik had to stay behind and give them a chance to escape.

Nadira rested her hand on his bicep, a pleading look on her face as if silently begging him to come with her, "Malik…do not stay here – earlier…that vision – "

"Damn it, woman!" he snapped, "Take our baby and get out of here! I would rather be dead and know you are safe than die after watching them take you!" the bottom hinge broke away from the frame and he swore angrily. She could have been outside by now! He felt her lips on his cheek and then heard her retreating steps as she hurried away with their crying baby. Sending a quick prayer to any god that would listen, he hoped she would be safe – both of them. The door broke and the Dai was lost amongst the clash of steel and the pained cries.

00

"Lookit! The white rain is back!" Altaïr stared out of the doorway with the little girl hanging on his robes, "Do you think Nadira's baby likes the smow?"

"'Snow', little one, it is snow." Her face scrunched up as Altaïr corrected her and he smirked at her irritation, "I do not know, I do not think she will remember it or see it until she is much older." The girl's father ushered her back inside and told her not to bother the Assassin, he loved his daughter but she was such a pain. Often when she saw him in the street she would call out to him and he would have to silence her before the information he was trying to learn was lost. "She has grown, Nakim, I have never heard someone talk so much."

Nakim chuckled, "She likes to talk. Give Malik my blessings, Brother; I hope his wife feels better this morning – if anything ever happened to her…"

"It would kill him." Altaïr finished for him and headed out into the snowy streets, "I will return later, tell your little one that she is sharing her room again." The Assassin had slept well considering the constant chatter from the little girl, she was sweet but he had considered smothering her with a pillow during the night. Malik had been right though, it was too cold to have stayed at the bureau. He hoped he was early enough to share breakfast with them and he hoped Malik would warm to the idea of moving his family back to Masyaf.

When the master Assassin arrived – he froze. The sliding roof was smashed, ivy hung brokenly from snapped beams and most of the wood had fallen into the room below. What had happened? Surely it had been an Assassin stupid enough not to realise it was shut and fell through. He gripped the edge and lowered himself down, beams snapping under his boots as he tried not to get tangled in the weeds and debris, the snow further slowed him. He went to the doorway, half expecting to see Malik grousing away about the damage, he found blood and bodies. Templer bodies. The room held an eerie quality to it as he observed the dust sparkling in the sun through the windows, the morning light illuminating the blood spattered walls and giving a sort of piece to the macabre scene. A groan caught his attention and he released his hidden blade as he spun on his heel as if waiting for an attack. "…Malik?" another noise and the man gasped in surprise to see his friend under some of the fallen beams, "Malik!"

He lifted and threw what he could from his friend's body, eventually having to drag him from the wreckage and protect him from more of the collapsed roof. He looked down at Malik's prone body, he wore only his bottoms, the skin exposed was goose bumped and snow was able to settle on the frozen skin. Altaïr removed his belt and sash so that he could cover the other in his robe – yes, Malik had injuries but he had to get warm first! Hands ran over cold cheeks and through black hair that was matted with blood and snow, it caused Malik to groan again and his eyes to slit open just barely, "It is alright, I am here…I will not let you die."

"They…they took…" his face contorted with pain and he let out an agonised cry as if he had only realised, "They took them! They took Nadira! …Zayba…" Altaïr pulled the man to his body and hugged him tightly, it was to force heat into the Dai, an attempt to soothe him as he barely had enough strength to wail at the loss of a wife and child. Malik shivered violently, the vibration of his body so strong that Altaïr struggled to contain it; he had tried to follow when they took Nadira but the roof has collapsed and the intruders left him for dead. All he could think was that Nadira had no shoes on, she had only worn a night dress and he was certain she would too cold – was his baby bundled up enough? "They took them…"

"Shush, I know…I will get them back, Malik." Noticing the crimson begin to infest the white of his robes like a disgusting disease, Altaïr held tighter to his friend. He had no wish to leave Malik alone but the man needed a doctor before he bled to death! "I swear I will get them back!"

000

I would like to thank my whole one reviewer! Glad you like it, hope I do not disappoint! A quick request to future reviews though!

Believe it or not, these appalling writing skills earned me an A in English about…five years ago! I have not written anything in such a long time and I know that my grammar is lacking, that I am putting punctuations all over the place…my word programme also replaces everything with semi-colons when I am not looking. I appreciate criticism on my writing but can I ask that you PM me the mistake that I have made? Otherwise I sit there going, 'where?'

So if I have miss-used a comma or something similar, I have a visual of what I have done wrong. I learn better when I can see what I have done! And in return, I will get better! Everyone wins! Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

Malik glared hard at the wall, he was cold, he was in pain and he wanted to punch the healer in the head for being so clumsy with his stitching. It never hurt when Nadira stitched his wounds! "I do not have time for this!" he snapped angrily; the longer he lay there, the further his wife and child were taken from him.

"Would you rather bleed to death?" Altaïr allowed the Dai to glare at him and he tried not to return it. His friend was covered in dark bruises, cuts, the worst of which stretched from his right hip to the bottom of his ribs on the opposite side. The thing that really vexed Malik was the knowledge that his wrist was badly sprained – he couldn't even lift his sword! "Malik, what happened?"

"Templers, four of them, broke in through the roof…I held them off for as long as I could but two more came in from the secret passage. They took them and I could do nothing to prevent it!" growling at the healer, Malik tried to sit up, "I am coming with you."

Altaïr shook his head, a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth, "No." he said firmly before continuing, "You can not use your arm, the ride out to…wherever they have taken her, would rip your stomach open again! You are no use right now and there is no way I will ever agree to bring you along." The worst of it was that Altaïr had no idea where to start the search. Had the river already flooded? Was there a camp nearby for the men that had taken them? How had they known so much? Perhaps the man who took the 'apple' had seen more than Altaïr had thought. "…do you know where they came from?"

"Do you think I know!" he yelled at the other, the healer pushed down on his chest again to make him lay down and Malik sent the man a fierce glare in return. "I…I do not know anything…" not one of them had said a word about where they were going as all they did was give orders to one another, 'silence the child!' and 'if she is struggling knock her out' – if they harmed her… Malik turned his head to the side, he found staring at the mess easier than thinking about how he had watched them taken; that's when he remembered something. The walls were spattered with crimson and his incense pot lay broken on the ground…exactly as Nadira had said she had seen…what else had she said? Something muffled and in her own language… "Acre. A black boat is rested in the docks… they will take her there."

"Then I will go. She said the river would burst its banks and already the air gets warmer." He turned on his heel to go but Malik made him pause.

The Dai looked at him with less ferocity, "step carefully, Altaïr…use your head." He had known the younger man since childhood, he knew Altaïr was secretly a very emotional creature and he would foolishly run into trouble whilst trying to retrieve both mother and child. The fact that Altaïr was going to leave without restocking his throwing knives or taking any rations was proof of his mind being elsewhere, "Why must you always rush into things?" Altaïr turned his back on him and left Malik to blink stupidly at his back. The older sighed in irritation at Altaïr's way of hiding his thoughts, sometimes he wished he could read the others mind so that he could figure out the stupidity.

In truth Altaïr hoped Malik would never figure him out – he would be angry…well, angrier with him. Nadira was important to Altaïr not only as a 'piece of Eden' but as another member of his family and she was more important to Malik than anything else. He would find her mostly for him, he would find her because it was his fault for not hiding the 'apple' securely, it was his fault for not killing the one who had taken it, he had taken too long to try and move Nadira away from danger and he had not been there even though he knew trouble was coming. Once again he had caused Malik to lose his family; Kadar…Malik's arm…both his fault and now a baby and a wife were being thrown into the pile of his failings – the hurt he had caused his friend. "I will earn your forgiveness this time. I swear I will bring them both back…no matter the cost."

Malik's eyes widened slightly, his jaw slack and his voice stuck. Altaïr didn't have to earn anything from him – he would give him anything freely! Was that stupid man still letting guilt fester away deep inside because of mistakes nearly four years old? And what did he mean, 'no matter the cost'? "Novice!" he hissed angrily and caused the healer to sigh in exasperation.

00

Nadira struggled against two of the men that had taken her; they were laughing at her efforts to reach the basket with her daughter in and seemed to take joy in her frustrated cries. They were stopped many miles from Jerusalem at a small camp, the dawn sun just barely lighting the sky, "Give her back to me!" whilst fighting against one of them she employed a little trick Malik had taught her and smirked as one of them went down howling in pain. The other man left holding her pushed her to the ground and yelled a her in a language she could not understand – now that she looked, this man and the one on the ground were identical…just her luck. The twins held a brief conversation and nodded to one another, Nadira found the one she had injured had grabbed her ankle and yanked her towards him so that she could climb above her. It didn't take a genius to guess what they had planned or what that dark look meant.

Her yelling had attracted the attention of the camp's commander, at first he thought it was just a distressed captive but after hearing some of what she was yelling he came out of his tent to investigate. "What the hell are you doing?" he yelled angrily as he saw the scene. Not only were his men trying to assault the woman they were ordered to steal but they were taking no heed to the small baby screaming hoarsely and freezing because she had kicked off the blankets. He realised the baby could barely be very old at all and his men where trying to… "Are you trying to kill her? If anything happens to this woman then we are through! We will all be hung for your stupidity!" the commander picked up the basket and headed back toward his tent. He heard another howl of pain come from one of the twins; he looked over his shoulder to see the man clutching his groin and the woman scramble up and race after him. Once inside his large tent, he held the flap open for the woman and surrendered the baby to her. "I apologise for my mens' behaviour."

"Not for kidnapping me and my daughter?" she sniped sarcastically as she tried to soothe Zayba. The poor thing had been crying since they were taken from the bureau and she sounded so angry that it was a wonder she hadn't combusted, "It is alright, come on, I am here so do not cry…" Zayba refused to quiet at all, if Malik were there she would have and the thought caused a wave of grief to wash over her. Was Malik alive? Last she had seen of him was a sword slicing across his body and the roof falling in on him – it would take more than that to take him down!

"She is probably hungry." Nadira glared up at the man and practically hissed at his presence. He was a head taller than her and looked to be in his mid thirties, his hair was cropped short and blonde, a few little scars nicked his skin in a few places across his face and there was a disturbing scar across his throat. his eyes were a deep, dark brown and held an apologetic light to them, he did not look like he would be a threat to her…in fact he looked quite sympathetic. "Do not give me such a look…she probably has a sore throat from crying so much and therefore you should feed her." he let her glare at him for a little longer and shrugged – if she wanted to be stubborn and let the child suffer than so be it. "It is your cho – hey!" Nadira had swayed slightly on her feet and then her knees seemed to give way before she could even realise; the commander dived forward and grabbed her in a way that she would be able to hold onto the baby but hit the ground safely, "You are so warm!" he exclaimed as he realised she had a fever.

Slapping his hand away, Nadira turned her body out of his hold and left him staring at her back, "Do not touch me!"

"I think you misinterpret your place, woman! Your life may not be in danger but that baby you hold…I can have him left here. He will freeze to death or be picked at by the birds if you continue to behave like this." He watched her tense up and glance at him from over her shoulder – he had her attention now. But she looked frightened now and that would make her unpredictable, "It does not have to be so awful, my name is Ethan. You have a talent that will help our cause, you could help us bring peace to this land and I promise that if you co-operate you will be treated very favourably. I am sorry my men have treated you appallingly, that your son has been dragged into this but it will be easier if you just behave." She didn't respond to him and he resisted the urge to yell at her…perhaps a different tactic then? "How old is he?"

She considered further ignoring him but he had threatened to throw her baby out into the cold, "She is a girl…and she is…" Nadira had to hesitate a moment as she realised another day had passed, "Two days…today she is two days old."

"Is she your first?"

"Yes."

Ethan groaned internally – this was not how it should have been! Stealing a woman with orders to protect her at all costs was a simple enough task. He was told nothing of a newborn and a sick new mother. "Was it an easy birth?"

"No actually!" she growled above Zayba's cries, "I spent nine months getting fevers, I was in pain all the time and nearly lost her twice! I spent most of the time too sick to move and then when she finally arrived we both nearly died! Do you have anymore private questions or would you like to examine me yourself?"

"I am just trying to find out what I can do to help you!" he growled back at the hostile woman.

"Take me back to my husband! If you want to help take me back to Malik!"

"…Malik…oh dear lord above. Malik Al Sayf?" fantastic! He had a sick mother with a newborn baby taken from an Assassin, in his tent! This was not what he had been told to expect. "At least that one armed cretin will not be any sort of challenge." No sooner had the words left his mouth that he felt the sting of a hand striking across his left cheek and out of reflex he returned the slap. The woman held her cheek and stared at him with wide angry eyes – it had not been hard and already the sting was vanishing but no one had ever struck her before. Her voice wavered a little as she warned him that Malik would have no problem killing him, that he would not let her be taken any further away, she told him that Altaïr would come as well and that both men would lay his entire camp to waste; she didn't even need a vision to tell her that. "From what I heard from one of the men, your husband will not be coming. Now tend to the little one before I silence her myself." He stood from the ground to give her some space, his gaze not releasing her as he found his seat and rested comfortably on it.

"I…" she knew that she should feed Zayba but his presence embarrassed her, "Can you go outside?"

"No." Ethan said flatly.

"But I can not feed her with you watching!"

He shrugged at her alarmed look, if she had not been so difficult he may have considered her request. "I will look away…you have your back to me anyway."

"That does not matter! I…I can not do it with you here…she is noisy and…and I do not like anyone to be near," she even asked Malik to leave her alone on these occasions.

"Deal with it. If you were trustworthy I would leave you alone but you have been a pain so far – you do not deserve this favour. I have two of my own children, I am no stranger to witnessing this, even though I will not be paying any attention, I do not understand women who get so flustered! I bet you hide in a closet when you feed her…my wife would find a wardrobe." He let a smirk tug the corners of his mouth, "If you have a problem with me being here I can get one of the other men to 'supervise'"

"I hate you."

000


	4. Chapter 4

Ethan looked at the woman asleep on the floor of his tent; she had felt faint and simply lay down after making sure the baby was warmly wrapped up and fallen asleep. That had been nearly half an hour prior and the commander now deemed it safe to approach her without losing an eye. She was an odd mixture of hot and cold; her skin was raised with goose bumps, she shivered also but she was sweating with the force of her fever. If he didn't do something soon – she would die of something! How could his men be so incompetent? He had told them how important this woman was, how they needed her unharmed and on good terms! So what did they do? They attack her in the middle of the night, kill her husband, refuse her access to a _two day old_ daughter and attempt to rape her…she didn't even have any shoes on! He felt as if he should give her a few days to recover from giving birth just to make the travel less life threatening to her but they had to move soon or the Assassin's would surely come looking. At the very least, Ethan knew he could help with the child, he had watched her with the baby and although she was extremely loving and affectionate – she had no idea what she was doing!

"My Lord, we have mapped out a route to Acre that will be well guarded by our own and would like you to inspect it." He sighed and followed his guard out of the tent; Nadira was too deep asleep to be a problem for him now. At least that is what she hoped he would think. The dark haired woman sat up slowly and looked around for anything that would be of use, there was a bedroll, a chair and a small table with ink and parchment but that was it. Getting up she grabbed the pen, dipped it into the black ink and began scribbling on a piece of the parchment;

_Acre, taking route well guarded by own men._

She huffed at the shortness of it, that would not do and she only had one option. Biting down on her left thumb hard enough to draw blood and make her eyes water, she tried to force her power to give her a vision of her own future. Pain was the best way to bring on a vision but without a specific focus she would end up knowing the weather forecast for the next month! Gasping at the sharp pain in her temples she grumbled in irritation before biting her index finger viciously and causing her vision to cloud;

_River will flood tomorrow evening and block all paths. Black ship with gold decorations – birds._

Nadira put the pen back as she had found it and practically crawled back to Zayba, there was a rug beneath the basket and she hid the note beneath it. But how would it be found? "What should I do, Zayba?" she asked her quietly as she thought it over…what had Malik said about messages? Her eyes flashed in triumph and she began rubbing her bloody thumb and finger over the thick material of the tent.

00

Altaïr slowed his horse when the camp came into view. How dare they – how dare they have the audacity to stop so close to the city as if no crime had been committed! He told his horse to stay and made his way stealthily to the camp; he used the tall cliff face to shadow him and made sure to stay out of sight of the watch tower further from the tents. He scowled angrily as he realised it was mostly abandoned, had they even brought Nadira here? There were two guards on the tower, another guard warming his hands by the fire and he could hear someone else in one of the larger tents. The Assassin slipped a throwing knife from his belt and aimed it at the man by the fire; he was dead within moments and sat as if nothing had occurred. Satisfied he was still unknown he entered the tent, drawing his dagger as he did so he could block the sword that clashed with his. The man inside reeled back in shock, how had this man known he would strike out?

"You were expecting me – where is the woman and child?"

"I do not know what you are talking about, demon." He swung at the Assassin again and found it deflected expertly, metal screeched against metal and after destroying the table with a clumsy fall from the guard Altaïr pinned him down.

"Where are they?" he hissed in the man's ear. There was nothing but angry growling coming from the man. Taking this chance to let his hazel eyes sweep the tent, he saw blood on the material and not far away a small soft doll that he had given to the infant. He lingered too long on the toy and grunted as he found himself thrown to the ground and his own dagger presented to his throat.

The guard grinned at him, "Where are they?" he asked still smiling, "The baby – that damn bastard cried and cried, hurt my ears and irritated me! So we drowned it in that little pond outside." Altaïr stopped breathing for a second. Zayba was dead? She was barely even given a chance to live at all! The man noticed the change in the Assassin and continued merrily, "And that bitch. She was so bossy; she thought she could give us orders and not have to face the consequences! We were going to let her off but then she kicked my twin in the crotch – could not have that…had to teach her a lesson if you know what I mean." He relaxed a little as he thought about his little story; there was nothing better than really destroying an enemy before killing them. "You know, at first we thought it would be a waste of time – I mean with her having a baby and everything but it was worth it! She did not hug our cocks as tight as we would have liked but she was noisy…a little tender I suppos – Whoa!"

Hearing just about enough, Altaïr reared up, the dagger drawing blood from his neck not deterring him as he grabbed the man's face and slammed it onto the ground, "Where has she been taken?"

"Like I would tell a filthy little Arab like you!" a few more impacts with the ground had the man yelling in agony as his nose was broken – then his cheek bone – he heard the sick crush of skull next – a ringing in his ear as more of his face was smashed. The Templer screamed for him to stop, his voice slurred because of the damage and his body seemingly frozen by the brief torture, "Go…g-go…" Altaïr leaned in closer so he could hear, "Go…to hell!" a little flick of his wrist and the Assassin's hidden blade pierced the man's throat. He left the body on the ground after cleaning his blade on the man's clothing – he had to resist the urge to spit on the corpse. Altaïr made his way over to the soft doll and picked it up with a slight tremble running through his hand. He tucked it gently into one of his pouches and examined the mark on the tent, he recognised it as a distress sign that the Brotherhood used. He ripped the rug aside and picked up the note, nearly tearing it as he opened it, the writing was terrible and he could not understand the language she had written it in – she must have been in pain if she had reverted to writing in her mother tongue. Malik would be able to read it.

After quickly dispatching the tower guards who had come to investigate the previous screaming he ran to the pond by the camp, it was shallow but murky and he could not see to the bottom. Altaïr stepped in and began frantically searching with his hands for a little body he prayed he would not find. He prayed that his instincts that the man had been lying were right – he found nothing. It had been a lie…at least about Zayba's fate. Nadira's had sounded too convincing but the man was a snake!

00

Malik watched as his men went about packing things up from the bureau; they had to find a new place because this one had been forever compromised. It angered and saddened the Dai; he had met Nadira here, his home was here, his baby had been born here and they had been taken here. A sound from the roof made everyone stiffen and ready themselves for a fight – they all wanted a piece of the Templer scum! Altaïr appeared and they relaxed, except for Malik who looked at him expectantly, "Did you find anything?"

"A mostly empty camp but they were there; here." He handed the not to Malik and the man practically snatched it from his hand, he hissed in pain as his injured hand clenched.

"Acre, she is being taken to Acre by the north west route guarded by the enemy. The river will be flooded tomorrow with no way past and the ship you are looking for is black and gold…may have birds adorning it." He saw how the writing was jagged and splotched, his mind ran through what state she must have been in for her usually faultless writing to be so…distraught. "Did you find out anything that may have happened? Do not give me that look, Altaïr! If you know something than say!"

Altaïr internally winced a how easily Malik read his expression, "There was a man at the camp, he said that they had drowned Zayba…but I found no trace of her in the pond and I am almost certain of his deception."

"Almost?" he snapped as he kicked the chess table over, "Almost? This is my child, she is barely days old and you do not know what has happened to her?"

"Malik, I found this," he gave the doll to the Dai before continuing, "No basket, no blankets or anything to say a baby was ever there. Why take these things if there is no baby to care for? If she was truly lost then these things would have been abandoned with the doll." Altaïr watched the older man hold the toy to him, he almost nuzzled it and for a moment he looked completely lost. A few of the others looked at him with a shared pain, as if they could imagine the heartache but not fully comprehend it – Altaïr felt it too. If one of his sons were ever lost to him…even the thought was painful enough but to not know…

Malik didn't look away from the toy; his dark eyes were nearly black and so empty that the other Assassin felt a deep pang within himself at the sight, "What of Nadira? They will not kill her…but they can hurt her…and we both understand that people can live through horrible torture…did this man say anything of her?" at this Altaïr looked away, he did not know for sure if the news he had was true and so he would not plague his friend with it. "Altaïr?"

"I will find her…both of them and I will bring them back to you. I leave for Acre now, Brother."

00

They were in another camp now, another tent that looked like the last but was miles away from the last. "Messages in blood? That was a little macabre, do you not think? …wish I could have understood it." Nadira squealed and flinched violently when she heard the commander's voice. He had been quiet for such a long time that she had forgotten about him. The action sent a jolt of pain through her, her head throbbed painfully from the vision she had just experienced and she suddenly felt queasy. Ethan's eyes widened as he witnessed her skin pale and all the tell tale signs of someone who was about to be sick; quickly he searched for something to give her and barely had it to her before she was ill. "If you are going to be sick every time you get a surprise I will walk loudly…oh…damn it." He rubbed his face in his hands and looked up unhappily – she had just vomited in his helmet. It was too late now.

"Sorry, I just…I am sorry." Nadira tried to take a few deep breaths but ended up just emptying what remained in her stomach. She was more embarrassed than when he had been present whilst she was breastfeeding – was she going to have any dignity left to her?

Ethan blinked in surprise when she apologised, "Try taking deep breaths." He stalked over to the little table and emptied his water canteen onto a scrap of cloth he had planned to use to clean his armour. He felt her jump when he placed the wet cloth on the back of her neck, her side ways glare had no effect on him and he refused to move away – she was his responsibility and he would look after her. "How did you suddenly worsen?" he asked mostly to himself before turning his head and yelling toward the flap of the tent, "Conrad!"

"My Lord?" the other man answered before even coming into view.

"The horses are ready, I assume. We will leave now and make a stop in that little village to see a doctor…I can not in good conscious take her straight to Acre in this condition." The man hesitated for a moment, "What is it?"

Conrad looked at the ill woman and sighed, she did look terrible, "The river is threatening to flood…if we make the stop in the village we will be blocked in."

"Then send a message to the ship in Acre, have it sail around to the port in Alep and we will meet it there."

Nadira heaved a moment longer but looked up with watery eyes, "B-but Alep is the completely opposite way!" her throat burned horribly and her stomach churned emptily as she had nothing more to bring up.

Ethan shrugged, "Do not worry, the trip is not much further and as I said; as long as you behave I will make sure no harm comes to you or the little one." Once again he turned to the other, "As soon as you have sent the message, bring some bread and something to soothe our guest's nerves – see if you can find some mint, which cools fevers does it not? Then prepare the horses."

000

P.S. Altaïr! You are going the wrong way!


End file.
